Wikipedia and Google Protesting Against SOPA

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia page closed its website 24 hours and Google hid its logo with a black plate on Wednesday as a sign of protest against the anti-piracy law that Congress is considering.

Internet giants like eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo! and Wikipedia say the proposed law “would give the U.S. government the power to censor the Internet and use procedures similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran.” “All of us had the opportunity to establish groups or associations that promote entrepreneurship, innovation, content creation and online free speech,” they wrote.

“We oppose to these laws because they are just clever ways to shut down foreign Web sites judged to be aggressive, without having to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet,” said a Google spokesman Tuesday.

“We believe that Internet piracy is a serious problem that would require a legislative response, but we will not support a legislation that would reduce the freedom of expression, increase the cyber security risks and undermine the dynamism and innovative character of the global internet ” the White House said in a statement.

(MS)